BLM October Oil and Gas Lease Sale Generates over $16 million

BILLINGS – Bonus bids at the Bureau of Land Management’s Oct. 23 oil and gas lease sale in Billings totaled $16,047,064. Nearly half of the bid and rental receipts will go to the State of Montana.

The highest single-parcel bid was $684,000 submitted by Donco, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas, for a 2,280-acre parcel located in McCone County, Montana. Bakken Assumptions, LLC of Indianapolis, Indiana, submitted the highest per-acre bid at $1,500 per acre for a 40-acre parcel in Richland County, Montana.

A total of 244 of the 248 parcels offered, totaling just under 97,375 acres, received bids. A total of 237 parcels were located in Montana, with the remaining seven parcels located in South Dakota.

Additional information regarding competitive sale lists, detailed results of sales, and the leasing process is available by writing the Bureau of Land Management, 5001 Southgate Dr., Billings, Mont. 59101, by calling (406) 896-5004, or at www.blm.gov/mt.

Oil and gas leasing is driven by consumer demand, and competitive oil and gas lease sales are conducted on a quarterly basis at BLM’s Montana/Dakotas State Office. Receipts from federal oil and gas leases are shared with the state or county where the lands are located. All leases are issued for a 10-year term.

Potential environmental effects that could result from exploration and development are analyzed before any leases are offered for sale. All leases come with conditions on oil and gas activities to protect the environment that can include limits on when drilling can occur or restrictions on surface occupancy. Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, further environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is conducted to determine the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or mitigation measures. In addition, many operators routinely use Best Management Practices such as remote monitoring of producing wells and multiple wells per pad to minimize surface impacts.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.